


On Paper

by BearWithAHat



Series: banana split artist fics [2]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Art, Art Galleries, Artist AU, Banana Split, Drawing, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Morning Kisses, artist Marcus!, extremely brief implied sexual content lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 12:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24849403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BearWithAHat/pseuds/BearWithAHat
Summary: Marcus’ artworks gain more attention, and his portraits of his boyfriend accidentally become quite popular.
Relationships: Marcus Ericsson/Antonio Giovinazzi
Series: banana split artist fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797823
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	On Paper

**Author's Note:**

> i love banana split very much and i felt it was time the world got another artist Marcus fic :) still gonna write a sexytime fic for them too but enjoy artist fluff for now pls. 
> 
> this is a sequel to the first fic in this series so you may want to read the first one if you haven't :0

Marcus prided himself on the progress he made with his art. Over time, he learned to produce more intricately detailed and realistically shaded pictures. Normally he stuck with drawing with charcoal, but he began to dabble with acrylic paints and color pencils, though charcoal would always be his favourite medium to use. He invested in better materials, finer and larger paper, and books of studies and drawing exercises to practice with.

His artistic range grew to encapsulate a wider array of subject matter. Marcus had started out preferring to draw simple landscapes and occasional human figures, and he gradually began drawing animals, buildings, really whatever brought him the inspiration to create. 

No matter how much he learned and practiced and changed as an artist, his favourite subject would always be Antonio. 

The first time Marcus had drawn his boyfriend, Antonio had been shy and almost reluctant to pose for him, not liking the focused attention that it brought. By the time Marcus was finished with it though, he felt less timid about being drawn and was willing to let Marcus do it again sometime. So he took advantage of the offer, having Antonio pose different ways for him as time went on. 

There was something about inspecting the features of his lover and replicating it on paper that was addictive to Marcus. Perhaps it was the fact that he didn't have to solely rely on his eyes to figure out how to draw Antonio, having studied each inch of the Italian's body with his hands, lips, and tongue. He knew exactly how to curve and place each line from having felt Antonio's physical form.

It helped that Antonio was also just straight up _pretty._ From his bright eyes and full lips, the waves of his long hair and subtle hint of facial hair, to the slope of his back and shoulders, the sculpted frame of his torso, and everything else about him made Marcus absolutely enthralled by him. Even if he were to stand among the masterpieces of the great art museums of the world, Marcus knew his eyes would pass over the paintings and sculptures alike and always settle on Antonio, the most beautiful thing in the room.

He always just did charcoal sketches of his boyfriend, giving them just enough shadow and detail while Antonio posed for him and going back in and refining them later. Not all of his drawings of Antonio were done with him posing for Marcus, some were just quick scribbles Marcus did in moments where Antonio wasn't even aware he was watching and was simply going about his life.

Truly those were Marcus' favourite drawings. They only took a few minutes, but they had the most personal value to Marcus, as they were so relaxed and in-the-moment that they were in essence a snapshot of his love for Antonio. When Antonio fell asleep on the couch or sat out in the backyard, looking over their garden, Marcus pulled out a piece of paper and a stick of charcoal to capture the sight, sights which made his heart skip a beat and overflow.

Marcus treated his art simply as a hobby, nothing more, and he assumed that nobody would ever take an interest in his artwork. That was fine with him, seeing as most of his drawings were self indulgent sketches of things, places, and the man he loved, meant for him and his heart only. Few other people had seen his artwork, and that was how he expected it to stay until Antonio urged him to enter an art contest.

A local gallery held a contest for landscape drawings of places around the town, and Antonio insisted that it would be perfect for Marcus to enter it, seeing how much he loved drawing landscapes. Eventually Marcus agreed, thinking it would be not only fun but helpful to get professional feedback on his work, and so he entered a charcoal drawing of a local park.

He firstly hadn't expected to win the contest, and he definitely didn't expect to wake up to someone calling him the next day and asking about displaying his work at another gallery. The owner of a gallery had seen his work displayed in the contest and was interested in displaying the piece and potentially more of his works if they were of the same quality. 

Maybe he was just too groggy to fully understand what was happening or maybe he subconsciously wanted to go down that road, but Marcus ended up agreeing to the offer. That little _oh, sure_ marked his dive into the art world. A few days later, he met with the people who ran the gallery and took a few of his drawings that were like the one from the contest for them to choose. They selected a couple of his landscapes to display, thanking him and complimenting his work heavily. 

He found it flattering that people liked his art enough to want to display it, and he was sure to thank Antonio for giving him the push he needed. On the night that his artwork was first put up, Marcus went to the gallery to see it. Antonio came along with him, excited that his boyfriend's art was being displayed publicly.

The gallery was a small, cramped building the middle of town. It consisted of only three rooms, and most of the visitors were other artists whose work was on display. It was a very friendly environment though, with everybody talking and appreciating each other's work and Marcus getting to introduce himself and his talent to the world for the first time, even if it was to a tiny audience in a virtually unknown building.

Marcus never thought that it would go further than that. Yet as time went on and his exhibition at the small gallery ended, more owners and directors of increasingly prestigious galleries wanted to display his work, and Marcus almost always agreed. Sometimes they had to drive quite far to see his works on the opening night of the displays, but Marcus didn't mind. What had started as a hobby was beginning to grow into a flourishing career for him, with some of his pieces being for sale and even being asked to do commissioned pieces.

Whenever someone asked about displaying his artwork, he only ever brought his landscapes or animal drawings for them to pick from. That was what had brought him attention in the first place, and his drawings of Antonio felt too intimate to put on display. He was content for those to stay for his and Antonio's appreciation only.

He was about to leave the opening night of his most recent gallery display when someone put a hand on his shoulder and asked in a quiet voice to speak to him. Antonio hadn't come with him that particular night and it was getting late. Marcus wanted to get home to be with him soon but he turned around to talk to whoever was looking for him anyways.

He turned around to come face to face with a shorter, stoic looking man, dressed nicely but not obnoxiously over the top.

"Excuse me, are you Marcus Ericsson?" he asked plainly.

"Yes sir, that's me," Marcus answer, offering a friendly smile. At first he thought he was about to be scolded given the unwavering neutral expression he was faced with and flat tone of voice speaking to him.

"I like your pieces that are here and I want you to consider putting some of your pieces in my gallery," he stated and pulled a card out of his pocket, shoving it into Marcus' hands.

Marcus read over the business card, the name _Kimi Raikkonen_ on it being unfamiliar to him as well as the address of the gallery. He nodded and tucked it into his pocket.

"Oh, thank you. Perhaps I could bring a portfolio for you to look through sometime?" Marcus offered. His landscape pieces had become very popular among curators, so he figured he could bring some of those that weren't currently on display.

“Yes, please call me in the morning,” was all Kimi said before turning around and marching away. He didn't specify a time, didn't ask if Marcus was too busy to call the next morning, he simply told him to do so and left.

Marcus found the man the tiniest bit intimidating but he let that go as he walked out of the building and drove home to where Antonio was waiting for him.

He opened the front door and crept inside, not sure if Antonio was still awake. Marcus took his coat off and hung it up before wandering into the living room where he saw Antonio curled up on the couch, on the verge of falling asleep.

“Hi, my dear, you look very tired,” Marcus murmured, sitting down next to him and wrapping an arm around him. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Antonio’s cheek.

“I wanted to wait for you. How did it go?” Antonio yawned, leaning against Marcus.

“Went pretty well, people liked the pictures. A man asked me about displaying at another gallery, so I guess it actually went more than well,” Marcus answered, carding his fingers through Antonio’s hair.

Antonio crawled into his lap and gave him a tired smile before leaning in and kissing him, slow and sweet enough to make Marcus forget about everything outside their cozy little home and the taste of his boyfriend's lips. Marcus stroked his back lovingly, wondering how he had ever gotten so lucky in life. They parted only when they needed to breathe once more, with Antonio yawning again and Marcus feeling ready to sleep too.

"I'm proud of you," Antonio murmured, cupping Marcus' cheek in his hand. 

The Swede beamed up at him, leaning into his touch. The sight of Antonio, sleepily smiling down at him, hair slightly messed up, was the kind of thing he loved to draw. Were it not for the fact that he was simply living in the moment, Marcus would definitely had tried to get it down on paper. He found it bittersweet that the most beautiful moments were those he could not capture; they simply had to live on in his own mind.

"Thank you," Marcus whispered, "now let's get to bed."

* * *

Marcus slept very well, spooning Antonio like he normally did and waking up to the sun peeking in through the curtains and birds chirping outside the window. He rolled over and stretched his arms, with Antonio waking up shortly after he did. The Italian put an arm over his chest, nuzzling at his cheek and humming quietly.

Marcus smiled blissfully and turned to capture his lips in a kiss, pulling Antonio closer to him and rubbing his shoulder. Antonio then kissed his cheek, his jaw, and down his neck, with Marcus giggling at the feeling, and tangling a hand into his soft hair. When Antonio began to play with the waistband of his pants and sucked more kisses onto his collarbone, Marcus let out a faint moan and was ready to let Antonio have his way with him.

Until he saw the clock out of the corner of his eye and panicked when he saw the time.

He sat up and quickly swung out of Antonio's grasp and out of bed. In record time, Marcus pulled on a shirt and his glasses, then trying to find his phone and just about knocking it off the nightstand when he realized it was right in front of him, as was the business card he had been given.

“What-are you alright?” Antonio asked from where he still sat in bed, visibly confused.

“I completely forgot that I’m supposed to call the guy who talked to me yesterday. He said to call in the morning and it’s nearly fucking noon,” Marcus scrambled to dial the number and lift his phone to his ear.

He did his best to calm his breathing as the phone rang.

When he heard a smooth _hello?_ in the same steady voice from the previous night, he wasn’t sure what to say at first. 

“Hi, this is Marcus Ericsson, we spoke last night at the gallery opening. Sorry I’m calling a bit later than you probably wanted me to,” Marcus said, putting on his best professionally polite voice.

“Ah, yes I remember. Are you able to come today with a portfolio?” Kimi got straight to the point.

“Yes, what time do you want me there?” Marcus asked eagerly.

“Anytime today. Go to the address on the business card. We're closed for the day so you'll need to ring the bell at the front door. If someone else answers the door, tell them you're here to see me," Kimi said. He hung up before Marcus could ask anything else or thank him, and the Swede sat there with his phone in his hand for a second before comprehending what the man had told him.

Antonio was behind him suddenly as he sat on the edge of the bed, arms circling around Marcus and pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"Is everything alright?" he asked once more, slowly and clearly. 

“Yeah, sorry. He wants me to bring a portfolio over for him to look through today, so I’ll probably leave after we have breakfast,” Marcus answered, rubbing Antonio’s thigh affectionately.

Antonio cooked breakfast while Marcus got dressed and went through his drawings he had with him, putting the best ones into his portfolio rather quickly. He set the portfolio down near the front door and walked into the kitchen to find Antonio setting a plate of eggs down for each of them. Marcus narrowly avoided choking on them as he quickly ate and swallowed a glass of orange juice in the blink of an eye. He kissed Antonio goodbye, and went out the door with his portfolio in hand.

The drive to the new gallery was a bit longer than most, but he made good time. The building was larger than any of the other galleries he had been invited to. The impressive classical architecture of it was almost intimidating to Marcus as he walked up to the doors. Remembering what Kimi had said, he rung the doorbell and waited, clutching the portfolio in one hand.

A man opened the door and looked him up and down. Marcus wondered if he should have dressed nicer, looking a bit bland in jeans and a plain shirt.

"I take it you're here to see Kimi?" the man asked, nodding to the black bag in his hand.

"Uh, yes, he wanted to look over some of my art for consideration to be displayed here," Marcus answered, trying to calm his subtle nerves. 

The man beckoned for him to come in and led him down a hallway. There were multiple large display rooms, with paintings and sculptures of different styles in each. The interior of the house looked as fancy and extravagant as the outside did, and Marcus wondered how on earth he had gone from cramped attic galleries that nobody knew about to a place that looked like something out of a period piece film.

He was led to a small office room where Kimi sat at a dark wooden desk, scrutinizing a stack of papers until Marcus awkwardly cleared his throat and shifted his weight around.

"Oh," Kimi said, looking up at him, "you're here. Take a seat."

Marcus sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk and said, "thank you again for taking an interest in my artwork, Mr. Raikkonen. I'm so sorry I called a bit late."

"That's fine. And just call me Kimi, _Mr. Raikkonen_ makes me sound old," Kimi said, folding his hands and looking expectantly at Marcus, "now let me see what you brought."

Marcus couldn't think of anything else to say and unzipped the portfolio. He straightened out the stack of landscape drawings before handing them to Kimi, butterflies in his stomach anticipating his feedback. Rarely did anyone harshly criticize when choosing artwork to display, but Marcus still felt nervous every time and he was waiting for the day when some curator or another made a harsh comment.

Kimi wordlessly flipped through the stack. He spent a minute looking at each drawing, setting them to either the left or the right side of his desk. Marcus wasn't even sure what to do and sat there, twiddling his thumbs and wondering what was happening in Kimi's mind. He never quite understood what made curators pick one piece over another, and he probably never would. All he knew was that they picked some of his landscapes to display for a while and handed back the ones that didn't make the cut.

When he got to the last picture in the pile, Kimi stopped and looked at it for longer than he had looked at the others. He held it closer to his eyes, studying it carefully before turning it to Marcus and asking, "do you have any more like this?"

Marcus' heart lept into his throat when he saw the drawing Kimi was holding. It was one of his drawings of Antonio, one where he had posed by facing away from Marcus and looking over his shoulder to allow him to practice drawing the muscles of the back. It must have accidentally gotten included in the portfolio when he was rushing to sort through the drawings at home. 

Never before had anyone except him and Antonio seen those drawings; Marcus only ever brought landscapes or drawings of animals for curators to pick from. His mouth felt dry and he tried to think of something to say while not verbally freaking out as much as he was internally.

"Yes, I have quite a few more of those. They're at home though, I didn't mean to put that one in the portfolio," he admitted, looking down at his lap in slight embarrassment.

"Why?" was all Kimi said in return.

"Why what?"

"Why did you not bring them?" Kimi prodded.

Marcus sighed and ran a hand through his hair out of nervous habit. 

"Um, I don't know. I figured people would be more interested in the landscapes and stuff," he said. It was partially true, he really did assume that landscapes would appeal to a wider audience, but there was also the fact that he didn't feel capable of sharing the likeness of Antonio with anyone outside of their home, anyone outside of their love.

"I like it. It's different. Would you be willing to let me take a look at the rest of them? If so, I think I would like to display some of them," Kimi asked. He looked over the drawing once more, taking in the details of the man on the paper.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, I can bring some more of them," Marcus choked out. He could feel his cheeks heating up, not completely sure of himself but also not wanting to say no. He had figured that those drawings would remain something between him and Antonio, and now that was probably going to change. The idea excited and terrified him at the same time.

"Good. When can you come again?" Kimi inquired plainly.

"I can bring them as soon as tomorrow."

Kimi nodded and pushed the landscape drawings back towards Marcus, who put them back in the portfolio. He held onto the Antonio drawing though, setting it down on the desk and asking, "would you mind if I kept this one here? I'll find a frame for it and get it ready to be displayed. Nobody else besides me sees them before they go on display."

"Oh, that's fine. Did you want any of the landscapes at all?" Marcus meekly asked.

"They are good too, but I think it would be best to display more of this type. It's good to branch out with your presence in the art world," Kimi stated. 

There was very little small talk after that, with Marcus leaving the gallery and on his way home less than an hour after he arrived. Before he left, he put the portfolio in the back of his car and sat in the drivers seat for a moment, thinking about what had just happened. He would definitely have to make sure Antonio was okay with his portraits being displayed, and Marcus contemplated calling him while sitting in the parking lot but ultimately decided it would be best to have the conversation face to face.

Thus, he drove home, the meeting having gone quite differently than he thought it would.

* * *

When Marcus arrived home, he silently carried his portfolio inside and searched for Antonio. 

He found the Italian in the backyard, watering the flowers in the garden and murmuring to the bees that buzzed around him. Marcus smiled at the sight, standing behind him for a few moments to simply watch him enjoy nature.

Antonio seemed to sense someone was behind him and turned around, setting the watering can down and stepping close to Marcus. He drew him into a kiss and took Marcus' hand into his own.

"How did it go?" he murmured, stroking Marcus' hand with his thumb.

"Well, I need to ask you something," Marcus awkwardly began. Antonio didn't say anything, tilting his head slightly and raising an eyebrow.

"One of the drawings I did of you accidentally got put in my portfolio and the curator wants to know if I could bring some more for him to look at. He said he wants to display them if I allow it. I don't feel it should be up to me as much as it should be up to you, so would you be okay with some of the drawings of you being on display? I won't be upset if you say no," Marcus asked, being sure to add the ending so as not to pressure his boyfriend.

Antonio was quiet at first, thinking it over. For once, Marcus couldn't look into his normally clear and expressive eyes and tell exactly what he was thinking.

"I never thought I would end up in an art gallery," Antonio said, giving Marcus a shy smile, "you can display the drawings, it's okay with me."

Marcus grinned and threw his arms around him, pressing a passionate kiss to his lips and wishing he could do so forever. Antonio let out a surprised noise and kissed him back, swaying gently in the Swede's hold and tenderly stroking his cheek.

"Thank you," Marcus whispered when he pulled away, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against Antonio's, "I love you so, so much."

"I love you too."

* * *

The next morning thankfully started out smoother than the previous day, with Marcus not oversleeping and making it to the art gallery at an earlier hour. Just as before, he carried his portfolio to the front door and waited for somebody to lead him to the office space, where Kimi said very little and looked over the drawings the Swede had brought.

Marcus anxiously sat and waited as Kimi inspected each drawing. He set four of them aside and pushed the rest back to Marcus, evidently having found the ones he liked best.

"Are these drawings of someone you know?" Kimi asked, breaking the silence that had permeated since he started looking through the papers.

"Yes, my boyfriend," his answer was a bit shaky.

Kimi nodded and spread them out on the desk. The other drawing Marcus had left with him was there too, in a pretty wooden frame that made it look much more professional than Marcus had ever thought his artwork was capable of looking.

"These four will go with the other one in the display. We are changing the display over the weekend, so Monday will be the opening night," Kimi explained to him, "yours will be in the portrait gallery."

Marcus took the rest of the drawings and put them in the portfolio. He felt numb with both excitement and apprehension, unsure how people would react to the drawings of Antonio. His name had become attached to beautiful landscapes, not portraits, and he was afraid that the display wouldn't receive the same positive reaction that all the landscapes had.

"Thank you. I never thought my art would be hanging in a place like this one day," Marcus said, still in awe of the building itself.

For the first time in the short time that he had known him, Kimi gave him a small smile, as if he too remembered being blown away and humbled by the decadence of the art world for the first time. He went on to explain to Marcus that the artists could enter the building on opening night from the back since they didn't need to pay to get in as the public did. Marcus listened and nodded, knowing that waiting over the weekend would be the longest two days of his life. 

Antonio smothered him with love when he got home and told him about how the meeting had gone, rambling in both English and Italian about how proud he was of Marcus. He insisted on helping Marcus find something to wear to the opening night despite the fact that they had a couple days to wait. 

The weekend went by slowly for Marcus, his anticipation growing each second and he was too worked up to do any drawing. He talked quite extensively to Antonio about how concerned he was that people wouldn't like the drawings or that they would like them and want to see more, and he wasn't sure which possibility scared him more. There was still a part of him that felt self conscious about showing something that was so personal to him.

Antonio always listened and did his best to soothe him, a few times resorting to a more distracting method of getting Marcus to focus on something else. As much as Marcus liked to think he was a composed person with his life together, he was incapable of not physically indulging himself with Antonio when the offer was given.

When Monday finally rolled around, Marcus found himself unable to sit still and had to go for a long run in the morning to keep himself from pacing around the house the whole day. He cleaned and organized nearly half the house just to give his hands something to do, even helping Antonio in the garden which normally wasn't his forte. 

By evening, he was nearly weak in the knees with anticipation. Marcus barely even ate anything at dinnertime, wanting to get the night over with so his excitement and nervousness could finally rest. He kept telling himself that it was a bit ridiculous to be as worked up as he was, but the butterflies in his stomach kept on fluttering.

As expected, Antonio decided to stay home. Marcus knew how shy he could be, and people would probably be able to recognize him as the person in the drawings, which would probably be overwhelming to the quiet Italian. He would love to have his boyfriend there by his side, yet he wasn't sure if he would be able to handle the beauty of Antonio next to him and the drawings of him in the same room.

Antonio fixed the top button of his shirt as he was about to leave. They had decided to go with a more classy outfit than Marcus normally wore, since the art gallery was the most prestigious he had been featured in.

"Good luck, _artista_ , I'll be here waiting for you," Antonio said, kissing his cheek. Marcus blushed and smiled at him, grateful to have him in his life.

Marcus drove to the gallery and came in through the back of the building as Kimi had told him to. He took his time wandering through each room, purposefully leaving the portrait gallery for last to see his own. The work on display was impressive and very diverse, ranging from things he would want to hang on a wall at home to things that were a bit weird to him but still fun to look at.

There were other artists there along with members of the public, and Marcus enjoyed getting to talk to them and ask questions about the different pieces. He was flattered to be complimented on his artwork, helping to calm his anxious thoughts that people wouldn't like the portraits. 

After he had looked through every other room and fallen into conversations with people he didn't even know, Marcus took a deep breath and walked into the portrait gallery. The very first thing he saw was his own five drawings in the center of the room, propped up on a table. A sizable crowd was gathered around, looking over the drawings and murmuring to one another. He felt himself break out into the biggest smile at the sight of drawings of the man he loved being admired and talked about. 

Marcus stood in the corner of the room, silently watching and listening to what people said. He heard comments about the smoothness of the shading, the soft expressions of the figure and the quality of the line. His favourite remarks he heard were those about Antonio, about how pretty, interesting, and captivating he was, and Marcus made a note to be sure to tell Antonio how much people liked his appearance.

Someone came to stand beside him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Marcus startled at first, not even sure how long he had been standing in the corner and watching. He looked over to see Kimi standing next to him, following his gaze to the table with the portraits on them.

"I think it's safe to say that people like them," the man quietly remarked.

Marcus laughed and said, "yeah, I guess so." 

"You know, we often tremble before things that are beautiful," Kimi murmured to him after a period of silence as they watched people flow in and out of the room.

"What do you mean by that?" Marcus asked, glancing at the older man out of the corner of his eye. 

"You were scared to show these drawings because they're beautiful, because _he_ is beautiful to you, yes?" Kimi went on, and Marcus felt more called out than he ever had in his entire life. 

It was true, Marcus supposed. He was hesitant to show the world his drawings of Antonio because he found them to be beautiful, and if the world rejected them then he wouldn't know how to handle that.

"I hadn't even thought about it like that before," Marcus admitted.

The night went on, with Marcus and Kimi perfectly content to sit back and watch other people enjoy the art. Neither said much, with Kimi's quiet nature rubbing off on Marcus. Eventually Marcus had to leave, seeing as it was getting late and he wanted to get home to Antonio soon. There was much for him to talk about and very little time left in the night.

"You should be proud, kid, you made something beautiful," Kimi said to him as he was about to leave.

Marcus thanked him, and on his way out to the parking lot he couldn't help but slightly disagree with Kimi. He hadn't made something beautiful, he had simply borrowed Antonio's captivating appearance, presence, and soul, and put it onto paper, and that was his biggest achievement yet.

**Author's Note:**

> oh man this ended up being way longer than I thought it would. banana split gang is only strengthened by it tho
> 
> you can find me on Tumblr @esteboo-ocon, come talk to me and say hi or whatever!!!!


End file.
